USCYBERCOM Chief Says Innovation Key to Staying Ahead in Cyberspace ‘Great Powers Competition’

Gen. Paul Nakasone has said that the U.S. is currently in competition with adversarial nation states that avoid engaging in outright conflict and instead use “nibbling strategies,” which erode the country’s strategic advantages a little at a time, MeriTalk reported Friday. The head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency spoke at the recent Billington Cybersecurity Summit.

Nakasone pointed out how this “great powers competition” is taking place in cyberspace, where opposing state actors are carrying out “strategic campaigns” against the U.S., including the theft of intellectual property and personal information as well as attempted electoral disruption.

A 2017 and 2018 Wash100 awardee, Nakasone noted how cyberspace is a “dynamic domain” with “low barriers to entry.” Consequently, cyber dominance “is not always possible” and cyber superiority “can only be thought of as temporary.”

“Advantage goes to the side that innovates fastest,” Nakasone said, adding that, to remain at the forefront of technological advances, USCYBERCOM must continuously collaborate with its partners.